creating tree animation

This guide walks you through how to generate a looping 3D voxel animation of a tree using SpatialStudio. The script creates a detailed tree with a textured trunk, branching limbs, and animated leaves that sway gently in the breeze inside a cubic 3D space, then saves the animation to a .splv file.

What this script does

Creates a 3D scene of size 128×128×128
Generates 1 detailed tree with:
- A realistic brown trunk with bark texture
- Multiple branches extending outward
- Clusters of green leaves that sway naturally
- Seasonal color variations in the foliage
Animates subtle swaying motion for 8 seconds at 30 FPS
Outputs the file tree.splv that you can play in your viewer

How it works (simplified)

Voxel volume Each frame is a 3D grid filled with RGBA values (SIZE × SIZE × SIZE × 4).
Tree trunk The trunk is drawn as a tapered cylinder with bark texture created using noise functions.
Branches Branches extend from the trunk at various heights and angles, getting thinner as they extend outward.
Leaves Leaf clusters are positioned around branch endpoints using spherical distributions with natural color variations.
Animation loop A normalized time variable t cycles from 0 → 2π, creating gentle swaying motion that affects both branches and leaves.
Encoding Frames are passed into splv.Encoder, which writes them into the .splv video file.

Try it yourself

Install requirements first:

pip install spatialstudio numpy tqdm

Then copy this script into tree.py and run:

python tree.py

Full Script

import numpy as np
from spatialstudio import splv
from tqdm import tqdm

# Scene setup
SIZE, FPS, SECONDS = 128, 30, 8
FRAMES = FPS * SECONDS
CENTER_X = CENTER_Y = CENTER_Z = SIZE // 2
OUT_PATH = "../outputs/tree.splv"

# Tree settings
TRUNK_HEIGHT = 40
TRUNK_BASE_RADIUS = 6
BRANCH_COUNT = 12
LEAF_CLUSTER_COUNT = 25

def add_voxel(volume, x, y, z, color):
    if 0 <= x < SIZE and 0 <= y < SIZE and 0 <= z < SIZE:
        volume[x, y, z, :3] = color
        volume[x, y, z, 3] = 255

def generate_trunk(volume, cx, cy, cz, t):
    trunk_colors = [(101, 67, 33), (139, 69, 19), (160, 82, 45)]
    
    for y in range(TRUNK_HEIGHT):
        # Trunk tapers as it goes up
        radius = TRUNK_BASE_RADIUS * (1 - y / (TRUNK_HEIGHT * 1.5))
        radius = max(2, int(radius))
        
        # Add slight sway to trunk
        sway_x = int(np.sin(t * 0.5) * (y / TRUNK_HEIGHT) * 2)
        sway_z = int(np.cos(t * 0.3) * (y / TRUNK_HEIGHT) * 1.5)
        
        for dx in range(-radius, radius + 1):
            for dz in range(-radius, radius + 1):
                distance = np.sqrt(dx*dx + dz*dz)
                if distance <= radius:
                    # Add bark texture using noise
                    texture = int(np.sin(dx*0.5 + dz*0.3 + y*0.1) * 2)
                    color_idx = min(2, max(0, texture + 1))
                    bark_color = trunk_colors[color_idx]
                    
                    add_voxel(volume, cx + dx + sway_x, cy - y, cz + dz + sway_z, bark_color)

def generate_branches(volume, cx, cy, cz, t):
    branch_color = (101, 67, 33)
    
    for i in range(BRANCH_COUNT):
        # Branch starting position on trunk
        branch_y = cy - int(TRUNK_HEIGHT * 0.3) - int(i * 2.5)
        start_height = int(TRUNK_HEIGHT * 0.7 - i * 2.5)
        
        # Branch direction
        angle = (i / BRANCH_COUNT) * 2 * np.pi + np.sin(i * 0.5) * 0.5
        length = 12 + int(np.sin(i * 0.3) * 4)
        
        # Add sway to branches
        sway_factor = np.sin(t * 0.8 + i * 0.4) * 0.3
        
        for j in range(length):
            progress = j / length
            radius = max(1, int(3 * (1 - progress)))
            
            bx = cx + int((j * np.cos(angle + sway_factor)) * 0.8)
            by = branch_y + int(j * 0.3)  # Branches angle slightly upward
            bz = cz + int((j * np.sin(angle + sway_factor)) * 0.8)
            
            # Add branch thickness
            for dx in range(-radius, radius + 1):
                for dy in range(-1, 2):
                    for dz in range(-radius, radius + 1):
                        if dx*dx + dz*dz <= radius*radius:
                            add_voxel(volume, bx + dx, by + dy, bz + dz, branch_color)

def generate_leaves(volume, cx, cy, cz, t):
    leaf_colors = [
        (34, 139, 34),   # Forest green
        (50, 205, 50),   # Lime green
        (107, 142, 35),  # Olive drab
        (154, 205, 50),  # Yellow green
        (85, 107, 47),   # Dark olive green
    ]
    
    for i in range(LEAF_CLUSTER_COUNT):
        # Position clusters around the tree crown
        angle = (i / LEAF_CLUSTER_COUNT) * 4 * np.pi
        height_factor = np.sin(i * 0.7) * 0.5 + 0.5
        cluster_y = cy - int(TRUNK_HEIGHT * 0.2) - int(height_factor * 15)
        
        radius = 8 + int(np.sin(i * 0.4) * 5)
        cluster_x = cx + int(radius * np.cos(angle))
        cluster_z = cz + int(radius * np.sin(angle))
        
        # Add wind sway to leaves
        wind_sway_x = int(np.sin(t * 1.2 + i * 0.3) * 2)
        wind_sway_z = int(np.cos(t * 0.9 + i * 0.2) * 2)
        wind_sway_y = int(np.sin(t * 1.5 + i * 0.5) * 1)
        
        final_x = cluster_x + wind_sway_x
        final_y = cluster_y + wind_sway_y
        final_z = cluster_z + wind_sway_z
        
        # Create leaf cluster
        cluster_size = 4 + int(np.sin(i * 0.6) * 2)
        for dx in range(-cluster_size, cluster_size + 1):
            for dy in range(-cluster_size//2, cluster_size//2 + 1):
                for dz in range(-cluster_size, cluster_size + 1):
                    distance = np.sqrt(dx*dx + dy*dy*2 + dz*dz)  # Flatten slightly
                    if distance <= cluster_size and np.random.random() > 0.3:
                        color_idx = int(np.sin(dx + dy + dz + i) * 2) % len(leaf_colors)
                        leaf_color = leaf_colors[color_idx]
                        add_voxel(volume, final_x + dx, final_y + dy, final_z + dz, leaf_color)

def add_ground_details(volume, cx, cy, cz):
    # Add some grass and small details around the tree base
    grass_color = (34, 139, 34)
    dirt_color = (101, 67, 33)
    
    for dx in range(-15, 16):
        for dz in range(-15, 16):
            distance = np.sqrt(dx*dx + dz*dz)
            if distance <= 15:
                # Add dirt near trunk, grass further out
                if distance <= 8:
                    if np.random.random() > 0.7:
                        add_voxel(volume, cx + dx, cy + 1, cz + dz, dirt_color)
                else:
                    if np.random.random() > 0.5:
                        add_voxel(volume, cx + dx, cy + 1, cz + dz, grass_color)
                        if np.random.random() > 0.8:  # Taller grass
                            add_voxel(volume, cx + dx, cy, cz + dz, grass_color)

def generate_scene(volume, t):
    generate_trunk(volume, CENTER_X, CENTER_Y, CENTER_Z, t)
    generate_branches(volume, CENTER_X, CENTER_Y, CENTER_Z, t)
    generate_leaves(volume, CENTER_X, CENTER_Y, CENTER_Z, t)
    add_ground_details(volume, CENTER_X, CENTER_Y, CENTER_Z)

enc = splv.Encoder(SIZE, SIZE, SIZE, framerate=FPS, outputPath=OUT_PATH, motionVectors="off")

for frame in tqdm(range(FRAMES), desc="Generating tree"):
    volume = np.zeros((SIZE, SIZE, SIZE, 4), dtype=np.uint8)
    t = (frame / FRAMES) * 2*np.pi
    generate_scene(volume, t)
    enc.encode(splv.Frame(volume, lrAxis="x", udAxis="y", fbAxis="z"))

enc.finish()
print(f"Created {OUT_PATH}")

Next steps

Adjust BRANCH_COUNT and LEAF_CLUSTER_COUNT to change tree density.
Modify leaf_colors to create autumn colors with reds and oranges.
Add seasonal effects by making some leaves fall by modifying their Y positions over time.
Create a forest by adding multiple trees at different positions.
Experiment with TRUNK_HEIGHT and TRUNK_BASE_RADIUS for different tree shapes.

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